Kerkhovense Molen, Oisterwijk
Facts and practical information
The Kerkhovense Molen or Untired is a round stone post mill in Oisterwijk. This mill was built in 1895 to replace a burnt down standerd mill, on a site where a mill had stood for hundreds of years. The mill received three pairs of grinding stones: one for grinding consumable flour, one for grinding animal feed, and one for grinding bark. The function of bark mill was important for the tanneries in the region. The presence of highly flammable dust during bark grinding caused a fire in the mill in 1912. It was then decided to close all openings to extinguish the fire. The Kerkhoven Mill was repaired with parts of the interior of a decommissioned polder mill in Barendrecht. However, as a result of the fire, the hull cracked, causing the mill to have moisture problems since the restoration.
Until the end of the Second World War, this mill was used for professional milling; after that, the mill fell silent and its maintenance fell behind schedule. To prevent further decay, the municipality of Oisterwijk bought the Kerkhoven Mill in 1953, but allowed parts of the inner workings to be removed. In the following years the mill served as a youth hostel. This lasted until 1970. In that year, it was declared a monument and work began on refurbishing the mill into a tool. In 1979, the Kerkhoven Mill was running again. In 1992, it had to be shut down again due to structural problems. The De Kerkhovense Molen foundation bought the mill in 1993 with the purpose of making it grindable again. On May 1, 1999, this was a fact. On this occasion, the mill got back its old name "Onvermoeid", a name it had carried since 1926.
The mill can be visited on Saturdays from 2:00 to 5:00 pm.
The 26.10 m large sails are old Dutch style and have sails with control panels on the outer sails. The blades were welded in 1978 and made by the firm of Derckx. The inner rod has number 272 and the outer rod 271.
The mill's windrow is an English windrow.
The 5,06 meter long cast-iron upper shaft, dating from 1850, is from the firm F.J. Penn & Comp. in Dordrecht and has number 17.
The mill is caught with a Flemish block catch, which is operated with a catching rope and catching drum.
Noord-Brabant